THE NE,W YORKER "And you're working for American Franchise Systems?" we asked. " I ' ' I d . m a reglona lrec- tor," the man said. "I bought the exclusive rights to sell area franchises to local representatives in the New York-New Jersey region. " "In other words," we . d " A . F sal , mencan ran- chise Systems has sold you a fran ch ise to sell fran- chises to sell franchises to local franchisees for seven companies who sold fran- chises to American Fran- chise Systems." The man nodded, and before he could say any- thing else we rushed toward the nearest exit. ;. Comprehensive W E compulsively read other people's kitch- en bulletin boards, and while we were exercising this habit recently at an acquaintance's house in Princeton, we came upon this printed list of telephone numbers: PRINCETON TO\VXSHIP Community Service Telephone Numbers Fire and Local Police 921-2100 State Police 452-2600 Hospital 921-7700 Poison Information 921-7700 Rescue Squad 924-0496 Republican Committeeman 924-5012 Republican Committee\voman 921-6792 27 ! ,\" ' \":' \ \ \\ {\ \.. < / } i I ' f , 1 /J '" < , \ - ..-- --.. ->- ';"" \ Þ' , < ' 0-* f << - lei M'" <<I' ((vV.e've been thinking of closing our town house. If those dynamos could fail once, they could fail again" Snow Removal A T the nadir of last week's snow crisis, when the streets had nar- rowed to single tracks, like wagon trails, between mountains of what looked like dirty whitewashed Roque- fort, with splattered cars and h ump- backed yellow Sanitation trucks wal- lowing in the slush, we were lurching and slipping among the craters of West Forty-seventh Street, heading toward Broadway, when we suddenly came upon a short stretch of clean, snowless sidewalk The clear pavement ex- tended along the front of the Hellenic Palace Restaurant & Bar, at No. 141, terminating on the east at the Alamo Chile House and on the west at the House of Louie Chinese-American Res- taurant. Directly in front of the Hel- lenic Paltce, and near the curb, was a very small boy in t bright-blue hooded snowsuit, black leather gloves, and -<\> .. *-'" t << ........, ,I. ',' '.""', ",....:,:,'l. ,", 1-. -- " ' \ - ) -- / . dark-brown boots, shovelling away, with a large red shovel, the last bit of snow from around a hydrant. When we congratulated the boy, he said, "I did from there, and there, and there. I put the snow wlth the other snow." He pointed toward the uneven heaps at the edge of the pave- ment. We introduced ourself to him, and he introduced himself; he told us his name was Chris, he was four years old, and he lived in Plain- view. Then he resumed working, noisi- ly scraplng the last coaring of slush from the curb. Presently, he rested, holding his shove] at arm's length. ""{xT h I " h . d " 1 ' Vy en grow up, e sal, m gOlng to be bigger than this shoveL" He glanced down the street, where a man in gray trousers and a blue coat was shovelling in front of the House of Blondes. "I'm faster than he is," Chris said. "I shovel down and down and down." He demonstrated for a few moments more, then turned and walked into the Hellenic Palace, where he took off his gloves and his snow- Slut coat, revealing a gray sweater and a checked shirt, and then climbed up onto a bar stool. "All finished, Chris?" called a dark young man, walking toward us be- tween white tables set for lunch. Chris nodded, and flipped his gloves around. . The man introduced himself as Teddy Kletsidis, and said he was Chris's father and the owner of the restaurant. Chris's grandmother and grandfather, he added, were both ln the kitchen, where they cooked for the Palace. Chns said something in Greek, and Mr. Kletsidis pulled off the boy's boots. "He said his feet hurt," Mr. Kletsidis explained, "Because I was working," Chris ' d " Th ' I " sal . at s w 1 Y . Chris climbed down from the bar stool. "When I grow up," he said, "I'm gOlng to be a doctor." He paused, and added, "When I'm finished with being a doctor, I'm going to be like my daddy." He walked over to the counter where the cash register stood. "I like that," he said, pointing to the register. "It goes drrrnng ,,, He climbed up on a chair, poked at th e register, then climbed down and wan- dered away to the kitchen. Mr. Kletsidis presented us with a demitasse of thick, sweet Greek coffee. "Chris comes in with me from Long Island once a week," he said. "He's a . b " nlce oy. A moment later, Chris emerged from the kitchen and ran toward us be- tween the tables, He went to the front window and picked up a squeegee that was lyiIJg on the sill. "Can I clean the window?" he asked.